Maker Faire has been a hot topic at ISTE 2014, with education leaders from across the world discussing how the maker movement has embraced education and how we can gain so much from it as educators.
The democratization of learning via the Maker Ed movement has made it an extremely exciting time to be an educator. Maker Spaces in education nurture innovation, experimentation and independence. Learners are no longer consumers, but active participants and producers of content in their own right.
When kids are making, they shift from consumers to creators. #iste2014 #makered
— Michelle (@Michelle_Colte) 29 Juin 2014
The Maker Ed movement is best illustrated in craft and the creation of actual physical objects and art work. But it doesn’t stop there. Maker Ed is all about innovation and thus about new ideas and new ways to think.
Technology being one of the most important tools of Maker Ed, allows students to break free of pre-packaged experiences and build their own learning experiences. This could be with a 3D Printer or one of the many sites that allow students to take control of their education.
What Maker Ed & Themeefy Bring To Learning:
Process v/s Product: A journey is more important than its destination. The Maker movement in education abides by this philosophy and emphasizes on the importance of the learning process during the entire exercise of creating rather than the final creation.
At Themeefy, the students can create their own lessons by searching the Web for content relevant to their subject. The exercise of searching for information, reading and choosing the most apt content is far more efficient in the learning process than consuming ready-made lessons.
(Re)Iterations & Perseverance: The process of creation involves many reiterations. Students aren’t expected to nail the project on their first attempt. With positive feedback from their teachers, they will have to go back to the drawing board and tweak their creation several times before they nail it.
FAIL – First Attempt In Learning, then, SAIL – Second Attempt in Learning! #ISTE2014
— David Tchozewski (@daveski61) 28 Juin 2014
While creating their Themes, students will often have to stop, rethink & even pivot, leading to several iterations of the Theme in the process of making it more interesting, pertinent and pleasing to their audience. The exercise not only encourages perseverance, it also redefines “failure,” making the erstwhile negative comment, nothing but the first step in the learning process.
Engaged Learning: The Maker movement is driven by interest based projects that value individual insights and personalization. The very fact of being responsible for their learning process rather than being passive recipients of knowledge handed down by their teachers, drives a certain passion and sharpens the students’ interest in the subject.
In asking students to create their own lessons and involving them in the process of learning, educators are paving the way for more engaged and passion-based learning.
Sharing & Growing Together: Maker Ed is founded on the principles of sharing and community-based creation and growth. The Maker Movement encourages the practice of sharing of knowledge and skills and mentoring in the manner of our forefathers.
Students are encouraged to share their Themes in their learning networks and discover the Themes created by others. Themes published inside a class are visible to all the members, thus students can learn from each other. Learn more about this feature here.
Themeefy Notes 